Will left-hander Ko Hyo-joon (41), who has already tasted the bitterness of his fourth release since his professional debut, be able to take the mound in the first division once again.
On Oct. 5, SSG Landers announced the list of 10 released players, including five pitchers and five fielders. Pitchers included Ko Hyo-jun, Park Min-ho, Seo Sang-jun, Lee Chan-hyuk, and Huh Min-hyuk. The fielders were catchers Kim Ji-hyun and Jeon Kyung-won, and infielders Kang Jin-sung, Choi Kyung-mo, and Choi Yoo-bin. Ko Hyo-jun is already going through his fourth release with this release.
Koh Hyo-joon made his professional debut by joining the Lotte Giants as the sixth in the second round of the 2002 Rookie Draft. Immediately after his debut in the first division, he played in six games, played only three innings, and was out of control due to poor ball control, which forced him to leave the team after his debut season. He moved to the SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers).
After failing to display stellar performance at SK until 2008, he finally became a starting pitcher in 2009. He achieved double-digit wins (11 wins, 10 losses, two saves and one hold) for the first time since his debut in the starting pitcher and the bullpen, and continued to play more than 100 innings until 2010.
After resolving military issues as a social service worker and rejoining the team, Ko failed to show his good times. Eventually, he changed his uniform through trade during the 2016 season and headed to the KIA Tigers. Ko successfully rebounded from Kia. He succeeded in changing the trend after being lifted from the call-up with 3 wins, 1 loss, 4 saves and an ERA of 4.27. In the meantime, he even enjoyed the joy of winning the Korean Series for the first time in his career in 2017.
Ko Hyo-joon rejoined the “Friendly Team” Lotte with the second draft ahead of 2018. He did not have a bad performance in the 2019 season, recording the most holds in the team at the time with 2 wins, 7 losses and a 4.76 ERA in 75 games, but he only received his second notification of release from Lotte with a 5.74 ERA in 24 games in the 2020 season.
Ahead of 2021, Ko joined the team as a nurturing player for the LG Twins and expressed his strong commitment to extending his active career. However, he failed to break through the walls of LG’s first team with many left-handed bullpens and only played in three games, receiving his third notice of release since the season.
Ko Hyo-joon, who lost his home again, returned to his hometown SSG after seven years of testing before the 2022 season. And he rebounded as if he had done that, proving his value as a veteran. He contributed to SSG’s 2022 wire-to-wire victory with a 3.72 ERA with one win and seven holds in 45 games in 2022, and served as the team’s core bullpen, marking a 4.50 ERA with four wins, one loss and 13 holds in 73 games in 2023. 먹튀검증
However, Ko, who turned 41 this year, failed to overcome the passage of time. With his unexpected injury and poor performance, he had the worst season of his career, with two wins, one loss and five holds and an ERA of 8.18 in 26 games. In the end, SSG ended its three-year companionship by notifying Ko of his release.
Ko Hyo-joon, who has already been released four times, is still known to be willing to extend his active career. The strength is that he is a seasoned left-hander bullpen, but the average speed of his main weapons, four-seam fastballs (143.6 km/h in 2023 and 141.8 km/h in 2024) and sliders (123.1 km/h in 2023 and 121.6 km/h in 2024) have decreased significantly. A new breakthrough is needed to play on the professional stage once again. Attention is focusing on whether Ko Hyo-joon, who has stood up like a rotuck despite many trials and continued his active career, will be able to take the mound in the first division again and perform “last dance.”
